Zero-tolerance laws help to keep teen drivers alive (10/12/12)

The Issue: A government report says the percentage of high school students who drive after drinking has been cut in half over 20 years.

Our Opinion: Although that is encouraging, young drivers still face higher risks than their adult counterparts.

There was some good news recently from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The percentage of American high school students who drink and drive has dropped by more than half in two decades, in part because of tougher laws against driving under the influence of alcohol, Reuters reported.

In 2011, 10.3 percent of high school students 16 and older reported drinking and driving in the previous 30 days, compared with 22.3 percent in 1991, according to a new study by the CDC. The agency credited the nearly 54 percent decline to stricter laws against drunken driving and restrictions on teenagers' driving privileges, such as limits on the hours they may drive at night legally.

In Pennsylvania a law that took effect in December requires holders of learner's permits younger than 18 to have 65 hours of supervised, behind-the-wheel skill-building, including 10 hours of nighttime driving and five hours driving in poor weather conditions, before taking their driver's test.

For the first six months after receiving their junior licenses, new motorists can transport only one passenger under 18 who is not an immediate family member.

Drivers and occupants in a vehicle who are under 18 must wear seat belts or be secured in a child-restraint system. Failure to comply is a primary offense, meaning a driver can be pulled over and cited solely for that violation.

"We're moving in the right direction, but we need to keep up the momentum," said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, CDC director.

Despite the decrease, nearly a million high school students consumed alcohol before driving last year, the report showed. Teen drivers are three times more likely than more experienced drivers to be in a fatal crash. Drinking and driving among teenagers is a factor in more than 800 deaths annually, and car crashes remain the leading cause of death among people ages 16 to 19, the centers said.

A separate study in May by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety quantified for the first time in a decade how teens' risk of a fatal crash multiplies when they have other teenagers in the car.

It increases by almost half when a 16- or 17-year-old driver has one teenage passenger; it doubles with two teen passengers; and it quadruples with three or more young passengers.

In a study in April, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its research found that drivers under the age of 24 were much more likely than more mature drivers to send and receive text messages while driving.

Even one of these three risky behaviors - drinking while driving, too many young passengers and texting while driving - can prove deadly for young drivers.

The CDC identified several factors that help keep younger drivers alive: a minimum legal drinking age and zero-tolerance laws as well as graduated driver's licensing systems.

As in many studies involving the behavior of young people, parents play a leading role. Frieden said parents were vital in ensuring that rates of teen drinking and driving continue to decrease.

"Children see how their parents drive from a young age and model that behavior," he said. "Parents are a key part of the equation here."